Culinary Advisor
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Garlic Butter Prawns with Crusty Bread
Created by Chef Thomas
King prawns turned quickly in garlic butter, sharpened with lemon and white wine, scattered with parsley, and brought to the table in the pan with bread torn for mopping up every last drop.
The smell hits you before anything else. Butter and garlic in a hot pan, that particular warmth that fills the kitchen in about thirty seconds and makes whoever's in the next room wander through to ask what you're making. This is a ten-minute supper that punches well above its weight.
I first ate something like this in a pub on the Suffolk coast, years ago. A small iron dish of prawns swimming in garlic butter, a basket of bread, a glass of cold white wine, and the sound of the sea through an open window. I wrote it down in the notebook that evening: prawns, butter, garlic, bread, the sea. It didn't need more than that. It still doesn't.
The whole thing comes together in the time it takes someone to set the table. Hot pan, good butter, garlic sliced thin, prawns that sizzle and curl. A splash of wine, a squeeze of lemon, and a handful of parsley thrown in at the end. You bring the pan to the table and tear the bread and nobody speaks for a few minutes because they're too busy mopping. There are few better feelings than putting a warm plate in front of someone. This is that feeling, only faster.
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Discover Culinary AdvisorIngredients
raw king prawns
Quantity
300g
shell off, deveined
unsalted butter
Quantity
50g
olive oil
Quantity
a generous glug
garlic
Quantity
4 fat cloves
sliced thinly
dried chilli flakes
Quantity
a pinch
dry white wine
Quantity
75ml
lemon
Quantity
half
juiced, plus wedges to serve
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
a good handful
roughly chopped
fine sea salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
crusty bread
Quantity
for serving
torn
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| raw king prawnsshell off, deveined | 300g |
| unsalted butter | 50g |
| olive oil | a generous glug |
| garlicsliced thinly | 4 fat cloves |
| dried chilli flakes | a pinch |
| dry white wine | 75ml |
| lemonjuiced, plus wedges to serve | half |
| flat-leaf parsleyroughly chopped | a good handful |
| fine sea salt | to taste |
| black pepper | to taste |
| crusty breadtorn | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide, heavy-based frying pan or skillet (the largest you have)
- •Kitchen paper
- •Sharp knife for the garlic
Instructions
- 1
Dry and season the prawns
Pat the prawns dry with kitchen paper. This matters more than you think. Wet prawns steam. Dry prawns sear. Season them with salt and a grind of pepper and leave them on the paper while you get everything else within arm's reach. Once the pan is hot, this moves quickly. You won't have time to rummage through drawers.
If using frozen prawns, defrost them thoroughly and drain well. They hold a lot of water. Squeeze them gently in a clean tea towel if you need to. - 2
Heat the pan properly
Set a wide, heavy pan over a high heat. Add the olive oil and half the butter. Let it foam. When the foam subsides and the butter begins to smell toasty and golden, not brown, golden, you're ready. The whole kitchen should smell warm and nutty. Trust your nose. It knows before you do.
- 3
Sear the prawns
Lay the prawns in the pan in a single layer. Don't crowd them. If your pan isn't big enough, do it in two batches. Let them sit for a minute without moving them. You want colour on the underside, a proper pink-gold sear. Flip them when the edges turn opaque and coral. Another minute on the second side. They curl into themselves when they're done. Take them out and set them aside on a warm plate.
- 4
Build the garlic butter
Drop the heat to medium. Add the remaining butter and the sliced garlic to the same pan. Let the garlic soften gently in the butter for thirty seconds or so, until it smells sweet and warm but hasn't taken on any colour. The moment garlic turns brown, it turns bitter. There's no coming back from that. Scatter in the chilli flakes and stir them through.
Slice the garlic rather than crushing or mincing it. Thin slices soften into the butter and give you little pockets of flavour through the dish. Crushed garlic can burn in seconds at this heat. - 5
Add the wine and lemon
Pour in the wine. It will hiss and spit and reduce almost immediately. Let it bubble for a minute until it has thickened into something saucy, mingling with the butter and the garlic and the pan juices from the prawns. Squeeze in the lemon juice and swirl the pan. Taste it. Season if it needs it. The sauce should be sharp and rich in equal measure.
- 6
Return the prawns and finish
Slide the prawns back into the pan and turn them through the sauce. Let them warm for thirty seconds, no more. They're already cooked. Overcooked prawns go rubbery and sad, and no amount of butter will save them. Throw in the parsley, toss it all together, and take the pan straight to the table. Serve it in the pan with the bread alongside for tearing and mopping. Every drop of that butter is worth chasing around the plate.
Chef Tips
- •Buy the best prawns you can find. Raw, shell-off king prawns from a good fishmonger will taste of the sea. The pre-cooked ones from supermarket chillers taste of very little and turn to rubber when you heat them again. If you can get shell-on and peel them yourself, even better. The shells go into a bag in the freezer for stock.
- •The bread is not a side dish. It's half the meal. You want a proper crusty loaf with a chewy crumb that can stand up to the butter without falling apart. Warm it in the oven for five minutes before you start cooking. Awarm crust tears better and soaks up the sauce without going soggy.
- •A recipe is a conversation, not a contract. If you haven't got white wine, use vermouth, or skip it and add a splash more lemon juice. If you like more chilli, add more. If you've got a few cherry tomatoes that need using, halve them and throw them in with the garlic. Your kitchen, your rules.
- •This wants a cold glass of something dry and sharp alongside it. A Muscadet, an Albariño, or a good dry English white if you can find one. The wine in the glass should be at least as good as the wine in the pan.
Advance Preparation
- •Slice the garlic, chop the parsley, and juice the lemon before you start. Once the pan is hot, everything happens in minutes. Having it all ready and within reach is the only preparation that matters.
- •This does not reheat well. Prawns cooked twice are not prawns worth eating. Make it, eat it, mop up the butter, and be done.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 300g)
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